MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball are investigating Jarren Duran’s allegation that a fan he pointed his middle finger at during a game had told the Boston Red Sox outfielder to kill himself.
Duran made the gesture as he returned to the dugout after a fifth-inning groundout in Boston’s 6-0 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night at Target Field.
“We were made aware of the situation late last night and are looking into it,” Twins senior vice president of communications and public affairs Dustin Morse said. “There’s no place in our game for conduct like that.”’
MLB confirmed its own investigation, per standard practice of reviewing the conduct of both the player and the fan before determining any potential discipline.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
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“Somebody just told me to kill myself. I’m used to it at this point, you know?” Duran said after the game, adding that he “shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”
Duran discussed bouts with severe depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix documentary series that debuted last year.
“Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I’ve just got to get used to it,” Duran said. “I was just trying to hold it in and not really bring that up to the team. I mean, we’re trying to win a game. I shouldn’t even bring that up to anybody. … It just happens.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game he hadn’t witnessed the confrontation or reviewed video of it, but he shared his thoughts with reporters ahead of the series finale on Wednesday.
“I know the Twins are all over the case and trying to find out who he was, and hopefully they find the person,” Cora said, adding that if found “it’s probably the last big-league game that that person is going to attend.”
“We have Jarren’s back. Like I said last year, for him to open up, he saved lives,” Cora added. “And it’s not easy. It’s not easy because, like he said, we’re in the business of winning games, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction. And he’s not a distraction. He’s not. He’s just a player that plays for the Red Sox and has our full support.”
Duran played all nine innings in left field on Wednesday, going 0 for 5 with a run scored in Boston’s 9-5 victory.
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